Mother goose preparing geese for party circuit

Snorkel and Goggle fine pets, after they learned to wear their diapers

When an attractive women brings two geese wearing diapers into an office for an interview, its hard not to expect little people, clowns and possibly a tame lion to follow them through the door.

But no, this side-show was all about two affectionate geese, called Snorkel and Goggle, and their owner intends to use them to make money and generally thrill children and tourists.

Carmen Traub, 36, has only had Snorkel and Goggle for five months but their legend has spread rapidly.

If everything goes to plan these female geese could soon be entertaining at childrens parties and performing around Whistler-Blackcomb.

Traub, who also owns two dogs, a hamster and a rabbit, said her geese are quality pets that love to be held and enjoy the attention of strangers. They are also easy-to-feed romantic animals who possess a fierce loyalty streak.

"The first thing they see thats bigger than them, they think it is their parents, so its best to get them just before theyre born," she said.

"They can be messy, but once youre through that theyre the best pets because theyre so loyal.

"They dont need water either; ducks need water because of the parasites in the water, but a goose is more of a land animal.

"And they love the snow, the last time I took them out they had a ball flying in and out of it."

Snorkel and Goggle appeared to be friendly enough to have some sort of career in entertainment, but their careers would most certainly have been over before they began, had it not been for Traubs diapers.

These diapers are as functional as they are necessary because geese tend to leave a seemingly endless trail of feces wherever they waddle.

Traub admitted she had enormous problems when her budding stars were growing.

"Weve got rock floors, which is lucky because when I was starting out with them there was just poop splatter everywhere," Traub said.

"One day my husband came home and said, theyve got to go, but I pleaded with him that I would fix it, and I did."

The results of Traubs promise to her husband is a diaper that straps onto the chests of her geese and is secured by a harness that runs down through the middle of their wings.

"You use duct tape on the diaper to secure it and then its like a shower cap around their tails," she said.

"The ingenious part of this (the diaper) is that its like a sack so the poop goes in and because they sit on their stomach and not their bums it (the poo) doesnt squash into their feathers."

This goose pooper-scooper is also made from "bathing suit" material so, according to Traub, it doesnt smell.

Despite their obvious value during public appearances, Traub said diapers are most useful because it allows her to have the geese as regular pets in the house.

While they might be loveable pets, keeping geese in the house is almost a full time job.

"They cant walk upstairs because it hurts their legs so I spend a lot of time moving them around the house," Traub said.

"When they are young they can grow inside eight hours; its really incredible to watch, so you have to keep changing the diapers.

"Id say I have about 15-20 different diapers, so, yeah, it wasnt easy.

"I like to have my pets inside but another reason I keep them inside is that theres eagles and owls around here who kill them."

The other factor any prospective goose owner needs to know is that geese can live for up 40 years.

Traub said she was not concerned at the prospect of caring for her geese for another four decades because, so far, they have brought a lot of happiness to her and the people around her.

"The wonderful thing Ive seen, particularly from people who have had bad experiences with geese attacking them, is that my geese never bite, and theyre soft and so many people have thanked me for letting them touch them."

Anyone interested in having Snorkel and/or Goggle as entertainment can contact Traub at 604-905-0932.